


Catfish

by wackyjacqs



Series: Bizarre Holidays [178]
Category: Stargate SG-1
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 16:26:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19407010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wackyjacqs/pseuds/wackyjacqs
Summary: “Double whiskey, please.”“Wow,” she hears coming from her left and she turns towards the source to find a man, slightly older than her, watching her out of the corner of his eye. “Bad day, huh?”“First date,” she says wryly before she downs the drink and signals for another, missing how the man’s eyebrows rise in surprise.





	Catfish

**Author's Note:**

> Written for ‘Catfish Day’ (25 June). This day is supposed to celebrate the _actual_ catfish, but where's the fun in that… 
> 
> Another AU offering.

“Double whiskey, please.”

“Wow,” she hears coming from her left and she turns towards the source to find a man, slightly older than herself, watching her out of the corner of his eye. “Bad day, huh?”

She studies him for a moment, noticing just how ruggedly handsome he looks sitting there in his leather jacket and jeans and the way his brown eyes shine with amusement – or mischief, she isn’t quite sure – but she tears her gaze away when the bartender sets down her drink.

“First date,” she offers wryly before she downs the alcohol and signals for another, missing how his eyebrows rise in surprise.

“Ah,” he nods, pressing his lips together. “A little Dutch courage.”

“Not exactly,” she sighs before she slides onto the stool next to his. “What?” she asks a moment later when she sees him still staring.

He holds a hand up in surrender before he lifts his own drink and swirls the liquid around the bottom of the glass.

“Well, I was going to suggest you should maybe go easy,” he shrugs, “but something tells me you can hold your liquor as well as I can.”

At that, she smirks but sets down her drink. “It’s a blind date,” she admits. “Or rather, a set-up. My brother’s idea – he thinks I need to get out more,” she huffs, throwing quote marks around his reasoning.

“Let me guess,” her companion interjects lightly, “but the guy’s a jerk.”

“He’s nice enough,” she hedges, meeting his eyes briefly before looking away, “but he’s not the guy for me.”

“Do you need rescuing?”

She shakes her head. “I’m fine.”

“Yes, you are.”

Even though he’s mumbled it under his breath, it’s still loud enough for her to catch and she wants to laugh at the look of panic that crosses his face, only for the fact that she thinks she really, _really_ wants to get to know him better. She doesn’t know what it is – she can’t explain the feeling – but it’s like something is drawing her to him; something she can’t – and doesn’t quite want – to fight. She’s about to ask his name when he speaks first.

“So, what’s your kind of –”

“Samantha?”

Both she and the handsome stranger turn to find her date looking at her with a far too eager-to-please look in his eye.

“Pete,” she says with a forced smile before he can say anything else. “I was just –”

“I’m Jack,” the stranger suddenly says, reaching out to shake the man’s hand. “I’m a friend of… Samantha’s here, and we were just… catching up.”

Pete looks to her for confirmation and she finds herself nodding.

“I’d invited her to join me for a drink,” Jack adds, seeing Pete’s reaction, “but –”

“We’re on a date.”

Sam wants to cringe at the way Pete says it and the way he stands protectively closer. Jack’s amused expression doesn’t help the situation, but she watches as he downs his drink, throws a few bills onto the bar and grabs his jacket to leave. He takes a moment to meet her eye, however, before he stands and she can read the unspoken message in his eyes. _Are you going to be okay here?_

She nods and he returns the gesture but then hesitates.

“If you change your mind,” he says suddenly, “I’ll be at the Chevron bar until late. It’d be good to see you again,” he adds.

With that, he disappears into the crowd and it’s only Pete’s voice that pulls her attention back.

“So, Samantha,” he says, “do you want to take this somewhere else?”

For the second time in as many minutes, she cringes but then she sees the door to the bar swing open and there’s just a glimpse of a leather jacket before the door closes.

“Actually, Pete,” she says. “I think we should probably call it a night.”

She catches his disappointed expression but she refuses to be made to feel guilty and when he offers to drive her home, she shakes her head and says she’ll order a cab. In the end though, it takes longer than she hoped it would to get rid of Pete and she briefly phones her brother to let him know that under no circumstances is he to ever set her up with someone again, before she exits the bar.

She has every intention of heading home, she really does, because she has absolutely no idea who Jack is or why, still, she’s even remotely interested in seeing if his offer was genuine but somehow, she finds herself standing outside the Chevron bar. She steps inside and immediately catches sight of him sitting there, and when he raises his glass towards her, her stomach somersaults and she suddenly wonders why she doubted him. With every step closer she takes, his gaze never wavers from her and she knows that she’s definitely made the right decision to join him.


End file.
